VALUE ORIENTATIONS
MODELS
VALUES:
• Basic convictions that people have regarding what is:
• Right or Wrong
• Good or Bad
• Important/Unimportant
• Should be avoided or accepted
• Important and lasting beliefs or ideals shared by the members of a
culture about what is good or bad and desirable or undesirable. Values have major influence on a person's behavior and attitude and serve as broad guidelines in all situations. Some common business values are fairness, innovation and community involvement.
• The commonly held standards of what is acceptable or unacceptable, important or unimportant, right or wrong, workable or unworkable, etc., in a community or society.
• Differing cultural values have shown to produce different management practice norms.
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Kluckhohn and Strodtbeck’s Value orientation model:
• 6 basic orientations
• What is the person’s relationship to nature?
• What is the person’s relationship to others?
• What is the modality of human activity?
• What is the temporal focus of human activity?
• What is the person’s concept of space?
CROSS-CULTURAL ORIENTATIONS
• Relation to Nature
• How people relate to the natural world around them and to the supernatural.
• Time Orientation
• The culture focus on the past, present, or future.
• Activity Orientation
• How to live: “being” or living in the moment, doing, or controlling.
• Basic Nature of People
• Whether people viewed as good, evil, or some mix of these two.
• Relationships Among People
• The degree of responsibility one has for others.
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Source: F. Kluckhohn and F. L. Strodtbeck, Variations in Value Orientations (Evanston, IL: Row, Peterson, 1961).
KLUCKHOHN AND STRODTBECK’S VARIATIONS IN VALUES ORIENTATIONS
Values Orientation Variations
Relation to Nature Time Orientation
Basic Human Nature Activity Orientation
Relationships among People Space Orientation
Subjugation Past
Evil Being
Individualistic Private
Harmony Present
Neutral/Mixed Controlling Group
Mixed
Mastery Future Good Doing
Hierarchical
Public
Some people were talking about the way that children should be brought up. Here are three different ideas:
• 1. Some people say that children should always be taught the traditions of the past. They believe the olds ways are best, and it is when children do not follow them that things go wrong.
(A)
• 2. Some people say that children should be taught some of the old traditions, but it is wrong to insist that they stick to these ways. These people believe that it is necessary for children to always learn about and take on whatever of the new ways will best help them get along in the world of today. (B)
• 3. Some people do not believe children should be taught
much about the past traditions at all, except as an interesting story of what has gone before. These people believe that the world goes along best when children are taught the things that will make them want to find out for themselves new ways of doing things to replace the old. (C)
• Which of these people has the best idea about how children should be taught? [Your answer: ________]
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HUMAN CONCERNS AND POSSIBLE RESPONSES
Concerns/ orientations Possible Responses
Human Nature: What is the basic nature of people?
Evil. Most people can't be trusted. People are basically bad and need to be
controlled.
Mixed. There are both evil people and good people in the world, and you have to check people out to find out which they are. People can be changed with the right guidance.
Good. Most people are basically pretty good at heart; they are born good.
Man-Nature
Relationship:What is the appropriate relationship to nature
Subordinate to Nature.
People really can't change nature. Life is largely determined by external forces, such as fate and genetics. What happens was meant to happen.
Harmony with Nature.
Man should, in every way, live in harmony with nature.
Dominant over Nature. It the great human challenge to conquer and control nature. Everything from air conditioning to the "green revolution" has resulted from having met this challenge.
Concerns/
orientations Possible Responses
Time Sense: How should we best think about time?
Past. People should learn from history, draw the values they live by from history, and strive to continue past traditions into the future.
Present. The present moment is
everything. Let's make the most of it. Don't worry about tomorrow: enjoy today.
Future. Planning and goal setting make it possible for people to accomplish miracles, to change and grow. A little sacrifice today will bring a better
tomorrow.
Activity: What is the best mode of activity?
Being. It's enough to just "be." It's not necessary to accomplish great things in life to feel your life has been worthwhile.
Becoming. The main
purpose for being placed on this earth is for one's own inner development.
Doing. If people work hard and apply themselves fully, their efforts will be
rewarded. What a person accomplishes is a measure of his or her worth.
Social Relations:
What is the best form of social organization?
Hierarchical. There is a natural order to relations, some people are born to lead, others are followers.
Decisions should be made by those in charge.
Collateral. The best way to be organized is as a group, where everyone shares in the decision process. It is important not to make important decisions alone.
Individual. All people should have equal rights, and each should have
complete control over one's own destiny. When we have to make a decision as a group it should be "one person one vote."
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KLUCKHOHN-STRODTBECK’S CROSS-CULTURAL
FRAMEWORK
• Areas for Training to Increase Understanding of a Foreign Culture:
• Religion
• Dress codes
• Education system
• Holidays—national and religious
• Daily eating patterns
• Family life
• Business protocols
• Social etiquette
• Equal opportunity
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